Crash
by jewels1798
Summary: What if the reason Pepper had failed to answer Tony's call in The Avengers was because something disastrous had happened? Instead of seeing him fly into the wormhole, Pepper was spiralling downwards in the Stark jet. Oneshot, could be continued...
1. Chapter 1

**So I know I have other stories to update, but I was looking through some of my old saved stories and I found this. With some editing I decided it was okay to post. I think it was intended as a one-shot, but I'll continue it if anyone is interested! **

**Please excuse the bad quality of writing, I tried to fix as much as I could :) I would love to hear your reviews!**

* * *

Pepper's eyes flew open as her vision adjusted to the scene surrounding her. She groaned as she rubbed her head. Everything around her was blurry; the same feeling was pulsating throughout her body. It resembled the television static she saw as a child, a numb, blurriness overcoming every sense.

She blinked a couple of times and saw that she was suspended above the ground, her body barely hanging out of a seat, her small frame supported by a seat belt. She was about 3 metres off the ground, and decided it was best to get down. Her fingers shook as Pepper quickly undid the seatbelt, and as soon as she undid the clasp her body fell to the ground with thud.

She yelped at the sudden pain shooting through her stomach and laid her back on the warm, sandy ground.

Wait. Sand?

"Oh god." She muttered as she tried to pull herself up. Metal surrounded her. She saw in the windy distance a giant metal cylinder and it instantly hit her.

"The jet." She stuttered. Pulling herself up, Pepper limped to the wreckage, ignoring the pain filling her body.

"HELLO?" Pepper gasped.

Approaching the plane that she now noticed was in flames, she tried again, "ANYONE?"

Seconds of silence followed, the only sound audible was the lick of the flames and the wind hollowing in her ears. She immediately thought of the events of the crash, searching her mind for answers.

The searing pain coming from her stomach interrupted her thought process. Hesitantly, she slowly lifted her ratty business shirt. Pepper nearly fainted at the sight of her blood. Her stomach had large gashes across it and tiny specks of metal were lodged into her skin. She winced as she lowered her shirt.

What had happened?

* * *

Pepper's heart stopped when she saw him. His armour was battered and scraped, New York was in ruins and hundreds were dead.

"C'mon Tony." Pepper muttered under her breath as the news report flickered to a shot of him down on the ground, vulnerable and fired at by dozens of creatures.

He didn't get up.

Pepper bit her lip and rose from her seat anxiously. Everyone on the plane had fallen silent and was fully engrossed in the small television on the equally small plane.

He suddenly sat up and flew away into the sky, narrowly escaping the creatures firing at him. She sighed from relief and everyone on the jet nodded and gave small, but reassuring smiles.

Those smiles turned into screams.

Pepper felt her body propel into the ceiling of the aircraft, everyone else on-board following her. The murmur of the TV was gone, and the lights in the cabin flickered as her stomach lurched upwards. Everything was happening at such a fast pace that she couldn't even comprehend what she was seeing.

Her body felt weightless, a feeling she had always hated. Fond memories of Tony forcing her onto a rollercoaster flooded her mind, that memory contorting into a real life nightmare. The feeling of the coaster lurching forwards at the peak was terrifying, but she had his hand, his reassuring smile to get her through. But now, she had nothing; there was no safety harness on this ride.

The sound around her was muffled, her ears felt blocked. Her vision blurred from pure shock, but she could make out a figure near her, a flight attendant. Pepper saw his mouth move, presumably yelling instructions at her, but she couldn't hear a word of what he was saying.

The plane continued to spiral downwards, her body moving in the direction of the plane. The flight attendant pushed her towards a seat, and Pepper, in pure adrenalin grasped onto it tightly. The man's fingers shook to clasp the buckle of the seatbelt, his body being pulled by gravitational force. Still deafened, Pepper saw everything in slow motion. The flight attendant's desperate eyes, the horrified faces of other members on board, and her phone, the light from it blinking in the darkness.

The click of the seatbelt brought her out of her stream of consciousness, her hearing restored as screams and the gushing of wind made her wince. She could see a good portion of the plane was missing, and to her horror, the crew were sucked out, their bodies powerless against the sheer pull.

The man who had helped her was desperately clinging onto a chair, his legs dangling on the outside of the plane. Pepper was helpless, she couldn't reach him, and her body was strapped to the safety of the seat. The flight attendant didn't scream or yell; he just looked at the CEO, his eyes frightened. Within seconds, his grip loosened, and he disappeared.

For the first time of the whole ordeal, Pepper screamed, her voice hoarse. She felt like she was going to vomit. Her breathing quickened as she realised that this plane was going to crash, and she wasn't prepared. Casting her mind back to those informational videos played at the beginning of flights, Pepper choked out a sob as she placed her head between her knees. Not knowing of what else to do, she prayed, prayed for her life.

She went unconscious when the jet flipped.

* * *

**Yeah, so that was kind of intense.**

**Reviews would be amazing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**OH MY GOODNESS! The response to this f****ic almost made me cry, YOU ARE ALL AMAZING! It was just intended as an angsty little oneshot but here you go, I'll continue it (along with several other stories which I still need to continue *cough cough* I'll make you mine and others)**

**Anyway, I apologise for the shortness of this chapter, all I can say is the usual: life got busy, I was practically dragged away from my laptop etc etc **

**ENJOY AND REVIEW (because it's my birthday in one hour (that's right I'm guilt tripping you)) **

* * *

Before

"If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three items would you take?"

Pepper rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the question. It had no relation to the paperwork needing to be completed 2 days ago sitting untouched on his desk.

"I'm not answering that."

"Why?" His head tilted in disappointment,_ those damn puppy-dog eyes, _Pepper cursed inwardly.

"If I answer the question, will you sign the contracts?" She aimed for a new tactic, her eyes scrutinizing, studying his expression for a reply.

Tony bit the inside of his cheek, a small smirk pulling at his lips, "Fine. But you have to full-heartedly answer the question."

She exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming along, "Okay, so three things?"

"Correct."

After a couple of seconds of pondering, the most logical answer came to mind, "Water."

Tony scoffed at her response, shaking his head.

"What?" Pepper replied, taken aback by his reaction.

"That's the most generic thing you could have come up with."

"It's a basic necessity."

Tony cleared his throat, "I," Articulating the 'I', " Would have chosen an unlimited vending machine of water, soda, and snacks."

"Unlimited?" Pepper quirked, amused at the ridiculousness of the item.

"There's no limit to what you can answer in this game Pepper."

"Well I won't participate if all you want is absurd answers."

"Not absurd, just creative!"

"Sign the paperwork."

* * *

After

She almost sneered at the memory; its relation to her current situation was a cruel case of irony. The dryness in her mouth argued that water was not a bad choice.

Instead of a deserted island, Pepper was marooned at an unknown location, filled with blistering winds and stinging sand. Her judgement ruled out any tropical environment, deducing that she was in a desert, indicated by the unfathomable heat and abundance of sand.

What nagged at her mind was not the lack of supplies, protection or aid, but the fear that Tony could still be fighting in New York. He could be injured, worn out, bloody to the bone, all whilst showing true grit and determination. Despite the chance of near death, Pepper was more concerned that he had won the battle, therefore expecting her to be waiting for him at Stark Tower, arms open and ready to care for him. Instead, she was stuck in this godforsaken wasteland, injured and confused as to how she got here.

The searing ache from her stomach brought tears to her eyes, her lip trembling from the pain. She decided that she wasn't going to wait and die out here, Pepper needed to get back to Tony.

Clutching her bloodied torso, she bit her lip whilst hobbling to the wreckage, hoping to find a phone or radio. There was no sign of anyone else near the plane, and her mind cast back to the crew; so many of them were young.

All she needed was a working form of communication.

* * *

"Sir, Shall I try Miss Potts?"

"Might as well."

The small image of her caused his chest to pang with guilt. He had to get rid of the missile, but looking into those eyes, those discerning, loving, forgiving eyes, he had to reconsider what he was doing.

Continuing to fly with the missile on his back, Tony fought back the stinging tears threatening to spill as he flew upwards, nearing the wormhole.

She still wasn't answering, and his mind was racing at what he could say. What words could he say to apologise for sacrificing himself and leaving her alone. There was too much to say, yet, he still couldn't even formulate a sentence to express his feelings.

With a clang against Stark Tower, Tony entered the wormhole, his thrusters immediately failing at the whole new atmosphere. Red lights flashed, displaying the, 'Call Failed' message against her smiling face. His face was showered with the red hue, his eyes refusing to believe what he was seeing. He gave an almost inaudible gasp at the realisation that he never had the opportunity to say goodbye to Pepper Potts.

Letting his grip loosen on the missile, he detached from the object, floating away as the tears began to brim. He watched the tiny object speed towards the Chitauri ship, and the blinding explosion making him close his eyes.

This was it.

* * *

**YEAH SO THAT WAS REALLY SHORT BUT GIVE ME A BREAK, it's 11:10pm and IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW (TECHNICALLY IN ONE HOUR) HIP HIP HOORAY FOR ME :D **

**I'll be back soon with updates for hopefully everything but in the mean time, LEAVE ME A REVIEW SO I HURRY!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I love you all seriously. Thank you for the ****amazing birthday wishes, guess what I got from some amazing friends? AN IRON MAN BUILD A BEAR AND A MARVEL DRESS :D My parents completely forgot so I got nothing from them, but I'll save you the rest of that sop story :P**

**Anyway, I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I am so shocked at the unbelievable response for his fic. Thank you for reviewing, following and favouriting, it just urges me to continue writing (this is a hint for you to continue doing this)**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Before

"Ugh." Pepper sighed as she sunk further into the couch, irritably glaring at her phone.

"What's wrong?" Tony's voice echoed from the kitchen, soon entering the living room with drinks in hand.

"I have to send some emails and my phone is not cooperating." Pepper grimaced while appreciatively accepting the glass of wine.

Tony grinned, "Well, you just so happen to be in the presence of a technological genius."

"Where?" Pepper smirked, rolling her eyes at his mock look of hurt.

"I'll pretend you didn't say that."

"Whatever." She took a sip of wine before handing the phone over to him, "It's the stupid reception, I don't have a single bar."

"I can fix that." He smiled, taking the phone and inspecting it, "I feel like you at least owe me something in return."

"Oh shush."

Tony smirked whilst fiddling with the phone, "Have you tried restarting it?"

Pepper ashamedly looked to him, "No."

He laughed while shaking his head in disbelief, promptly restarting the phone.

Pepper gave him a joking swat on the shoulder, "Give me a break, I'm tired."

This caught Tony's attention, resulting in him quickly pocketing the phone and grinning, "Well you need to stop working."

Pepper put her glass down and looked to him in all seriousness, "I just have three more emails to send and then-"

She was interrupted by his lips meeting hers.

* * *

After

Pepper was in the cockpit of the jet; well, what remained of the cockpit. Upon entrance of the plane, she narrowly avoided the jagged pieces of metal facing outwards. She instantly recognised the hole in the middle section of the aircraft, shuddering at the memory of the crew being sucked out.

Not much was left of the private jet, she could recognise some buttons and controls that had fortunately survived the crash. A radio or satellite phone had to be kept somewhere, and if it wasn't, Pepper was at a loss of what to do.

Her options were limited as she frantically pushed aside the rubble on the floor of the cockpit, looking under the main control desk. She turned to see a shaken up cupboard displaying the word _EMERGENCY, _and immediately determined that it was her best chance.

The cupboard opened pretty easily, probably because it came off the hinges. She quickly darted away from the falling door, coughing as the sand pillowed upwards from the impact. To Pepper's surprise, the contents of the cupboard had remained intact.

A standard first aid kit, some water bottles, and a satellite phone.

Pepper quickly lunged for the water, cracking open the lid and hurriedly gulping down the contents.

There were still 3 more bottles, so whilst thinking of how she could carry them, she grabbed the satellite phone and pulled out the antenna.

Dialling Tony's number, she nearly shed a tear at the relief that she could get out of this situation. She couldn't even feel the pain from her stomach anymore; she was so desperate to escape.

Holding the phone to her ear, her breathing became more rapid as she realised she heard no sound. There was no dial tone, no ringing, nothing.

Her heart shattered as she realised. It wasn't working. There was no reception.

Redialling several times, she grew more frustrated at each failed attempt. She tried to call the emergency services, but to no avail. Pity she didn't know how to restart it.

A sharp pain shot through her lower abdomen and she clenched her teeth at the sudden ache. Pepper quickly raised her shirt to see that her wound was emitting blood at an alarming rate, causing her to panic.

No way was she dying of blood loss. Not now.

Quickly grabbing the first aid kit, Pepper rummaged to find bandages and disinfectant.

She prepared herself by sitting on the ground, and using the water bottles, she used a smidgeon of the water to quickly clean the dirt away from the gash. Pepper inhaled loudly at the stinging of the water, and cautiously wiped around the wound with a cloth found in the kit.

She then proceeded to put the cloth in her mouth; her grip tightening on the disinfectant bottle as she slowly raised it above her stomach.

"On the count of three."

She closed her eyes whilst trying to steady her breathing, "One."

She twisted the cap off the bottle, "Two."

And with one last look at the satellite phone, she whimpered, "Three."

White, flashing, burning pain chorused throughout her body as she screamed through the rag. She felt her mind drifting as her tears stung from her eyelids.

Her hands shook as she hurriedly pressed a bandage to her stomach, the white fabric immediately turning red.

* * *

The Avengers were relieved, Loki was in SHIELD's temporary care and unable to destroy anything else, the Chitauri were dead, the wormhole was destroyed; all current threats were eliminated, for now.

All 6 heroes were exhausted from the battle of New York, and were in need of some deserved rest. But first, Tony's request had to be fulfilled.

As they begrudgingly walked to the Shawarma joint 'down the block', Tony quickly excused himself to make an important call. He received a knowing look from Natasha whilst everyone else nodded.

"Make sure you order something for me!" He yelled at the group as he opened his cell phone.

"Jarvis, Call Pepper." Tony asked, the desperation evident in his tone, probably even distinguished by the portable AI.

Thirty Seconds later, Jarvis replied, "I am unable to do so; it appears that Miss Potts' phone is unreachable."

"Unreachable?" Tony repeated, his tone now panicked. Was that why she didn't answer when he flew into the wormhole?

He had to close his eyes for a second, thinking about the events that literally occurred half and hour ago made him feel sick to the stomach. What also made him feel sick to the stomach was that something could have happened to Pepper.

"She was on Stark jet, correct?"

"That is where the last tracking signature was emitted from her phone."

"Where was the jet?"

"It was on course departing from Washington D.C, returning to New York," Jarvis paused, "However, it appeared to go off course 40 minutes ago."

Tony blinked, "Off course? Where? Jarvis give me a location!"

He found himself to be yelling at the phone, his hands shaking as images came onto the phone's screen, specifications of the jet and map visuals.

"It appears the aircraft went off the grid as it was above the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico."

"New Mexico? How did they end up there?" Baffled, Tony ruffled his already messy hair.

"I am not sure, Sir, would you like me to run a scan on the pilot on-board?"

"Yes, give me information on everyone on that jet, it sounds as though someone altered the arrival destination." Tony's voice faltered, "Is it possible that- there was a crash?"

"I can't confirm any details yet, Sir."

"Then prepare the suit."

* * *

**AWH NO PEP :(**

**Do you guys like the Before and After thing? **

**Anyway, review and I'll update soon :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ugh, I'm sorry this sucks :( Also, I'll be trying to reply to all your reviews ASAP, I've been very lazy and I'm sorry about that!**

**And I'm also sorry for how long the Before part is, I kind of just got carried away. I'm really into Tony and Pepper origins okay XD**

**AND quick thank you to the Guest that reviewed daily, if it wasn't for you I would of probably updated this a month from now *subtly hints for everyone else to do the same***

**OKAY ENOUGH FROM ME ENJOY :) btw if you spot the Captain America 2 reference you get a cookie. *hail hydra***

* * *

Before

Her eyes scanned over the numbers presented neatly on the paper in front of her. It was long, tedious work, but it had to be done. Her cubicle was tidy, just like her presence and work ethic. Virginia Potts never let a mistake ruin her pristine record at Stark Industries. She had been working for less than 3 months in the accounting department, never allowing herself to falter under pressure.

So her breath hitched as she saw the numerical error in the eighteenth page of the monthly accounting report. Re-reading it three times over, she hurriedly grabbed her calculator and checked the calculation.

It was wrong. The report was wrong. If it passed through unnoticed, it could cost hundred of thousands of dollars for the company, which was terribly, terribly wrong.

She quickly fumbled and gathered the papers as she stood to go find her supervisor. She needed to show him the error so he could address his supervisor, then their supervisor, then their supervisor, until the chain continued and someone eventually alerted Mr Stark himself.

Gulping, she swiftly walked to the main office of her department, knocking on the door three times. She couldn't hear any footsteps, or reply for that matter, so preceded to knock again.

"Mr Peterson left." A girl nodded from her desk as she saw Virginia anxiously trying to look through the blinds inside of the room.

Virginia looked at her watch, it read 4:56pm.

Everyone finished at 5pm, so Mr Peterson must have left early. With only four minutes to spare, she began to panic.

Looking to the girl at the desk who was now packing up her belongings, Virginia asked, "Who could I see regarding an accounting mistake?"

The girl raised her eyebrows in response, "Mistake? We've never had a mistake."

Pepper huffed, "I don't have time, there is a mistake on here," She gestured to the papers in her hands, "And I need to tell someone, because it's quite a big one."

The girl frowned, "Well, I've never really been in this situation, but I guess the only one with real power here is the big man himself."

"Mr Stark?"

"I dunno," The girl slung her bag over her shoulder, "I'm leaving, but good luck."

Stumped, she watched the girl walk to the elevator and press the down button. There was only one thing Virginia could do, and that involved going to the top floor.

She strode to the second elevator and hit the up button, immediately earning a 'ding'. The doors opened and she stepped in, not bothering to see the girl's amused look.

The ride up was painfully slow; Virginia could hear her watch ticking.

The elevator doors opened, revealing an all-marble level, however, she deterred her interest from the lavish office to the task ahead.

Approaching the receptionist, Virginia began, "I need to see Mr Stark regarding an accounting error."

She didn't let the receptionist say a word as she continued marching through the office, ignoring the shouts saying she wasn't permitted to go any further.

Quickly impeding her pathway, a large man stood in front of her, his security badge revealing his name, 'Happy'.

"I'm sorry Miss, but you can't proceed any further."

"I just need to show Mr Stark this one error," She shook the paperwork in front of him, "And then I'm gone!"

"I can't let you through without a security clearance."

Pepper was shaking from frustration, "I'm from accounting, please, this could jeopardise the whole company!"

"Then why haven't you alerted a supervisor?"

"Because he's not here!" She shouted at Happy, losing her patience.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave, I'll escort you," He grabbed her shoulders, resulting in her resisting against him.

"I have pepper spray!" She yelled as she gripped her paperwork, "I need to see Mr Stark NOW!"

She struggled against Happy's titanium grip as he forcefully pushed her away from the office. Virginia begged as she was literally dragged away from her one opportunity to alert someone of the error, letting her heels screech across the floor.

"Wow."

Tony Stark's voice made the accountant and security guard turn abruptly, with his trademark grin told to break hearts certainly making no impression on Virginia.

Breaking free of his grip, Virginia made sure to 'accidentally' bump Happy as she approached Tony, holding out the paperwork in one hand and smothering down her dishevelled hair with the other.

"There is a mistake in the accounting report that needs to be looked at."

Tony raised his eyebrows, "I read through that report, everything is correct."

"Not everything." Virginia huffed.

Tony begrudgingly took the paper and allowed the woman to point out the error, slowly nodding his head.

"Oh," He looked to Virginia, "I see."

She gave a smirk in response, immediately regretting doing so to the CEO of the company she was fairly new to.

"Thank you for pointing this out—" He stopped expectantly, giving the redhead a cue for her to introduce herself.

"Virginia Potts."

His face crinkled at the name, "I feel like you're more of a Pepper."

"Pardon?"

In a split second he had a glint in his eye, "How would you like to become my new personal assistant? My previous one was fired today due to 'mutual' issues," He paused and straightened his tie, "And I think you're perfect for the job Pepper Potts."

"I'm sorry, my name isn't Pepper." Virginia looked to him disconcertedly.

"You said you had Pepper spray, and that little 'scene' back there was probably the highlight of my week, plus, you suit the name."

She promptly blushed and shook her head, "Well, why would you want me to be your personal assistant?"

"You're observant," He gestured to the mistake in the report, "Determined," He continued as he pointed to his perplexed bodyguard, "And I think you have potential."

Pepper blinked a couple of times before processing the information in her head. A personal assistant to a billionaire with a world-renowned company that was prestigious on any resume. This was an opportunity too good to pass up.

* * *

After

"She was his personal assistant to begin with," Natasha continued, "And their relationship grew, and he eventually made her CEO."

The Avengers all listened intently to their friend as she filled them in on the deal with Pepper Potts. Tony had told them that they were to suit up and get ready for another mission, not really offering them any information except that Pepper was in trouble. He had joined Thor and was flying to the New Mexican desert, a place that was dear and familiar to the Demi-god.

The Avengers were all pretty foreign to the woman, and as they sat in the jet, Natasha filled them in whilst piloting. She knew everything there was about Miss Potts, especially due to her undercover role as Natalie Rushman, a detail she purposely decided to not include in the briefing.

"So, she's Stark's girlfriend?" Clint asked, earning an eye roll from the Black Widow.

Bruce and Steve looked to her as well; both too afraid to ask the same question but equally as eager to find out the answer.

"Yes." She sighed, "They've been working together for more than ten years, so she's kind of special to him."

"She'd have to be something to put up with Stark." Steve nodded.

"Well she obviously is, did you see the look in his eyes? He was genuinely scared." Bruce sighed.

Natasha nodded and looked back at the scientist, "Still any word on the exact location?"

"I still can't believe we're doing this literally just after saving an entire city from an alien attack." Clint muttered, earning a stomp on the foot from Natasha.

Bruce shook his head whilst scrolling through the details on his tablet, ignoring Clint's comment, "Nothing, but I did manage to uncover some details about the crew on board."

"And?" Steve asked.

"It appears that the pilot was a SHIELD agent, and the crew on board were Stark Industries Staff."

"A SHIELD agent?" Clint looked to Natasha, earning a shrug.

"Pepper was close with Coulson, perhaps he assigned her an agent to make sure the plane didn't interfere with the attack." Natasha immediately went quiet; there was a slight pain in her chest at the mention of Coulson.

"Could the plane have been hijacked?" Bruce continued to search the records of everyone on-board, "Everyone seems to either be crew or Stark Industries Representatives."

Steve piped up, "Maybe it was a Hydra operation?"

The Avengers hummed in thought, Bruce eventually answering, "I don't think Hydra is much of a threat anymore, and it doesn't make sense that they would make a personal attack on Stark, they barely know they guy."

"That's it." Natasha began to lower the plane; "There's one group that would particularly want to bring harm to Stark and anyone he cares about."

"And that would be?" Clint asked, bracing himself for the landing.

"A terrorist group called the Ten Rings."

* * *

Her heart began to rapidly beat as she opened her eyes. Pepper found herself slumped in the plane's cockpit, her eyes blinking to adjust to the light.

How long had she been out for?

Her head was pounding and she looked to her hands to see them caked in blood, along with the first aid kit splayed on the ground. Pepper's breathing quickened at the sight of the blood pool surrounding her, causing her head to spin.

She heard a noise outside, similar to the sound of a turbine. The unmistakeable sound of a helicopter whirring filled her ears; the noise was almost deafening.

The whipping of the blades continued as she shakily pulled herself up, supporting herself against the wall of the cabin. She could barely get her feet moving; She felt lightheaded, probably due to the blood loss.

Pepper's legs quaked as soon as she began to patter outside of the cockpit, there must be help outside. Her salvation was only a couple of steps away.

She could barely support her own weight as her body trembled from exhaustion. Pepper's eyesight wavered as she exited the plane, looking wildly around her for the supposed helicopter.

Using whatever voice she had left, she croaked, "Tony!"

He had to be here, who else would it be? Her mind wondered to the possibility of the Avengers turning up, what a funny thought that was.

With no apparent warning, the helicopter came into view, swerving in front of her and slowly lowering onto the sand. The sheer force of the wind released from the propellers knocked Pepper off her feet. Her knees were on the ground as she used her hands to shield her face from the stinging sand.

Despite her situation, she nearly cried from relief, _Tony was here_.

Pepper's thoughts were interrupted as she flinched when a canister landed in front of her. Her mind raced as she read the logo, 'Stark Industries'.

Suddenly, the canister emitted a green gas, and Pepper immediately recognised the tech. She desperately tried to crawl away from the looming cloud, but her body protested. As she inhaled the gas, her head went fuzzy.

Her last thoughts were of Tony.

* * *

**Ugh crappily written angst, the best kind. I'm sorry the last part is so shockingly terrible, oh well, I'll try and fix it when I get time. By the way, thank you everyone for all your supportive wishes about my birthday, my parents are not the best HAHAHAAHA **

**SO if you got the HYDRA reference, tell me in the reviews, I want to discuss it with you guys because I had so many story possibilities with it that I couldn't decide on! And what do you think will happen to our beloved Pep? **

**Is it REALLY the 10 rings? All will be revealed in the next ****instalment (ok i really feel like a reality show presenter)**

**love you all x**


	5. Update - Apology and Exciting News!

HI GUYS! It's been a long time since an update, I know, I'm sorry about that. I've got a chapter 3/4 of the way done and I don't want to rush it and not be happy with it.

The reason I'm saying this is because it may take a while for me to update (once again, I'm sorry) as I'm going to be away for a month.

I've been accepted to an academic program at Oxford University, a piece of extremely exciting news I've wanted to share with you all for ages. I'm going to be majoring in Drama and minoring in Screenwriting. I am super excited, and I actually leave tomorrow.

Soooooo, unfortunately I may not have the time to update, HOWEVER, I am bringing my laptop with me, so on the plane I will probably try and finish a couple of chapters for you guys. If I find wifi at a local cafe I will update, I just wanted to let you guys know that there is a possibility that my stories may be quiet for a while.

Anyway, thank you for sticking around, I'm going to post this message on my other main fic, and hopefully I'll update soon :)

I love you all so much.


	6. Chapter 5

**I have no words for how long it's been since I've updated, Oxford was amazing, probably the best experience of my life. Thank you for all your lovely wishes, I just want to say this again, I love you all so much. I don't know what I would do without you guys.**

**Thank you to the Guest who finally pushed me to finish this chapter… let me tell you guys something, every time you guys post a review, I see it, I feel bad for not updating, and I write. Sooooo, if I don't update in a while, please don't hesitate to review reminding me to update, I just need the push sometimes. **

**Enjoy, and hopefully you'll get the Agents of Shield reference in this chapter :) (it's my favourite show)**

* * *

Before

"Mr Stark?"

The redhead stood at the entrance of the workshop, her neatly manicured nails tapping on the doorframe impatiently. Tony slightly jumped at her voice, wildly turning his head to look at his assistant. He was a mess; scraggly hair, untamed beard, bloodshot eyes; all signs of either a rough night out, or a failed weapon concept. Pepper could quickly gather it was the latter, particularly with the absence of a confused, naked, blonde.

"Tony?" She repeated, slightly uneasy at the sight of his demeanour.

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair, further ruffling up the mess, "Yeah?"

"You have a meeting at 9," She glanced at her wrist, "It's 8:30."

He groaned, and Pepper proceeded to further venture into the workshop as she shook her head in frustration, "I told you last night, as well as setting several reminders for Jarvis to alert you."

Like a child, Tony buried his face in his hands, slumping in his swivel chair, "I disabled him HOURS ago."

"Why?" Pepper's tone came out agitated, and she instantly regretted doing so at the sight of Tony tensing.

"Because he was being a loud mouthed asshole."

Not needing a further explanation, Pepper nodded and began to inspect his desk, covered in an array of blueprints and paper.

"Did the 'Night-Night' Gas fail?"

Despite his mood, Tony couldn't help but smile at the name Pepper had coined for the weapon, "You mean the dendrotoxin mixture that causes short-term paralysis and loss of consciousness?"

Pepper nodded obviously, "Yes, the Night Night gas."

Tony gestured to a plan in front of him, "Well, the actual gas hasn't failed, it's just the method of distribution. The mixture in its liquid pressurised form is dense, and therefore trickier to disperse in a compact design."

Allowing Pepper to inspect the blueprints, he continued, "I just need to come up with a way to fit the diffuser as well as motion sensory technology in a smaller canister."

Pepper grabbed another print off the table, inspecting it against the other. She looked to Tony and gestured to the table, "May I?"

Tony raised both his palms in surrender and rolled back in his chair, "Go ahead."

She flattened out the prints on the table, and began to overlap the images of the canisters. Using a pencil, Pepper made faint marks at the intersections, and scrawled something unseen to Tony. Stopping and looking over the plans one more time, she nodded to herself and backed away. Tony quickly scooted to look at the project, taken aback at the intricate detail of his assistant.

Pepper cleared her throat and pointed at the plan, "You can combine the diffuser used in this canister here, with this one here. It shouldn't be too complicated to install it, it's roughly the same dimensions as the proposed diffuser."

Tony was silent as he mulled over the information. Quietly, he muttered, "You're a genius Pepper Potts."

"I guess you're going to miss the meeting?" Pepper sighed as she reached for her PDA in her pocket.

"Send them my regards!"

* * *

After

The crash site made his breath hitch.

"We've found it." His voice shook as he spoke, awaiting the response from the fellow Avengers. Thor propelled himself downwards, landing in a cloud of dust as he grounded. His hammer ready, he looked to Tony; who was still hovering and allowing Jarvis to infrared scan the wreckage.

Natasha's voice echoed through their earpieces, her face visible in the video chat in Tony's suit, "Send us the coordinates."

"She's not here." Tony exhaled, the words slow and unsettling. He looked at the results of the scan; there was not a single person here. It was definitely the Stark Jet, clearly evident by half the logo visible on the remaining exterior of the plane.

Natasha cleared her throat, "Is there anyone there?"

"No." Tony continued to view the wreckage in awe, there wasn't much left of it. A whole chunk of the centre of the plane was missing, and much of the interior that was exposed was charred and burnt. He could noticeably see a separated section with a seat hanging sideways, the seatbelt swaying with the wind.

Thor proceeded to walk to the plane, immediately noticing the blood trail from the anterior end leading into the cockpit.

"Metal man, you must see this."

Tony quickly landed next to Thor, allowing his gaze to affix on the blood trail.

"It's not dried." He muttered, proceeding to follow the path of liquid followed closely by Thor. Upon entering the cockpit, both men stopped at the sight of the pool of blood, accompanied by a sprawl of medical items.

"That's a lot of blood." Thor sighed grimly.

"Too much." Tony added, bending down to take a sample, "I'm giving you guys a visual, get Bruce to have a look." After switching the view of the video to his point of view, he opened a compartment in the wrist of the suit, carefully placing drops of blood on the small plate, "I can get Jarvis to scan for the DNA, but it's going to take a couple of minutes."

"We've got a visual." Natasha replied, allowing Bruce to be visible in the video feed. The look on Bruce's face confirmed Tony's suspicions. There was no way someone could survive after losing this much blood.

"Jesus, that's a lot of blood." Bruce adjusted his glasses, "The probability of survival is low Tony."

"It could be the aviator?" Thor asked.

"The pilot?" Tony nodded, "Perhaps."

"Then what would have happened to Pepper?" Clint came into view, looking to Tony.

"I don't know." Tony admitted, "Thor, can you give the crash site a once over and look for any signs of Pepper being here?"

Thor nodded, "It is my duty to aid you in finding Lady Pepper, I will go and search."

Thor promptly exited the small room, leaving Tony alone.

"Sir, DNA scan is complete." Jarvis' voice hollowed through the suit, his tone more grim than usual.

"Bring it up." Tony ordered, instantly regretting so when he saw the image of the human match.

Natasha saw Tony's face crumple, immediately replying, "Stark, what did the DNA scan say?"

Without speaking, Natasha, Clint and Bruce received a reply from Tony, with Jarvis automatically sending through the results. All three avengers solemnly looked at the text, grimacing when seeing the name and image of none other than Virginia Potts.

* * *

Pepper woke up panting, gasping for air as her eyes snapped open. Furiously blinking, she desperately tried to make sense of her surroundings. There was still a sharp pain in her abdomen, and a harsh wind was hitting against the wound, making her eyes water with the blinding white pain.

Wait a minute. Wind?

Her vision started to clear, but all she could see was red. More like an orange upon further inspection. The ground wasn't stable; evident in the sudden jolt causing her body to rock forwards. Her face now on the ground, she groaned as she tilted her head to the side, her eyes widening at the sight.

She was airborne, above desert sands. The wind billowed through her hair as she put the pieces together. She was in a helicopter, in who knows where, after a plane crash, only just waking up after being drugged by the 'Night Night Gas'. She knew the technology well; she had played a part in making it long ago in Stark Industries' weaponry days. Its effect was only temporary, just causing the victim to pass out for a short period of time, 2 hours tops. However, what irked Pepper was that the gas was taken off the market ever since the eradication of Stark Industries' weapon department.

Her heart sunk at the memories of Tony's retellings of Afghanistan; how terrorists had hands on his weapons. Shuddering, Pepper realised that she could be at the merciless hands of similar people. Her thoughts were interrupted by a thundering cough. She froze at the sound, ignoring the ongoing turbulence and trying to focus on the being behind her.

She heard heavy breathing, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a gun being reloaded. Pepper held a choked sob, listening to the footsteps become closer. A foreign language filled the space, undoubtedly addressing another person.

Before Pepper could react, two gruff hands gripped her shoulders and brought her to her knees. The gun she heard earlier was pressed at her temple, the barrel cold and hard. She tried to keep a poker face, but couldn't hide the fact that her lip was trembling violently. Her stomach ached as her body slumped, and the idea of infection quickly fuelled further concern.

She heard incoherent mumbling between men, with one of them finally clearing their throat, "Pepper Potts."

His thick accent confirmed that English was definitely not his first language.

The voice continued as she remained quiet, "You're probably wondering why you're here."

Pepper bit her lip to cease the trembling, probably a little too hard as the metal taste of blood seeped into her mouth.

"We just want something that you can help us get, if you help us, we'll let you free and not harmed." The voice struggled to complete the sentence, starting to ramble due to their lack of English vocabulary.

Finally speaking, Pepper could barely project the words, "Who are you?"

"We are the Ten Rings."

* * *

**Yep, I went with the Ten Rings. **

**Also, night night gun anyone? :)))))**

**Please review, what do you see happening next?**


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